Month: October 2018

On Wednesday, the 24th of October 2018, the Assistant Professor of English, Uzma Atif Jafri, sent out an email dismissing the residing president of TISF. This president was Kamil Shehzad, who had previously won the officially held elections by the majority votes.

The email is as follows:

“Dear All, With reference to the recent observations concerning the issues of TISF, followed with instructions provided by the President TIP, this is to inform you all that the TISF President, Kamil Shehzad has been dismissed with immediate effect.”…

She then appointed another president in his place, namely Mr. Omar Kamran (TMM4). This is a candidate who has tried his luck in the past two elections held in TIP and was unsuccessful in both. The student body was given no explanation for this sudden change in authority. They were simply, in a concluding statement, asked to “extend their cooperation” and “wish” Mr. Omar Kamran, and the secretaries standing with him the “best of luck.”

When the student body tried to ask for an explanation from the said professor, they were stunned by the inappropriate response provided. This response was that the administration was disappointed by the student body’s defiance at the decision taken. There should be no reason for the administration to feel disappointed by the students of their university, if they are seeking for an explanation that should have already been provided to them in the first place. The decision which was taken abruptly, without any reason. The administration not only failed to follow procedure, but also failed to provide a legitimate justification for their actions.

No member of the administration has the authority to dismiss a residing TISF president who was elected by the student body, without the support of the student body. The official procedure to remove a TISF president is that a vote should be taken in which at least 2/3rd of the student body should be in favor of the dismissal of the president. If a 2/3rd majority of votes are not obtained then and only then may the President of TIP have the authority to dismiss the residing TISF president, if he feels his performance is beyond repair or he is under the heat of any disciplinary action. Furthermore, the TISF President should receive a notice, informing him prior to his dismissal, that he is being impeached. Following this event, when a new president is to be elected a re-election should be held. This procedure has been stated in the constitution.

It is important that the administration panel provide grounds for their displeasure with Mr. Kamil Shehzad, before they can take it upon themselves to dismiss him in defiance of protocol. These grounds can also not be based on any personal bias.

Mr. Kamil Shehzad’s abrupt dismissal was not supported by any reasons as to why he deserved to be removed. There was no disciplinary action taken against him and no financial mismanagement was pointed out from his time served as president.

Given the circumstances of his dismissal, it is unacceptable for the student body to stand by and let a blameless person be dismissed from the position he worked so hard to achieve fairly. It is also unacceptable for the student body to stand by and allow this person to be crucified when he is not in the wrong. Defamation and character assassination carried out without any fair grounds should not be tolerated.

The constitution has laid out a proper procedure that needs to be carried out if a residing president is to be dismissed. That procedure does not include doing everything that this article has addressed above and following that with the selection rather than election of a new president. The new president, Mr. Omar Kamran, has been selected by the administration panel without the student body being given any say in the matter.

The student body appeals to those concerned in this aspect, to look into this matter once again, and to reinstate the president who had once been fairly elected and has now been unfairly dismissed.